Jesus proceeded to give His disciples a general picture of conditions just before He will return to end the present age and inaugurate His kingdom.
24:7-8 Wars, famines, and earthquakes will anticipate the end of the present age.
"The horrors described are not local disturbances, but are spread over the known world; nations and kingdoms are in hostility with one another."862
The Jews believed that a seven-year period of time will immediately precede Messiah's coming to rule the world.
"Our Rabbis taught: In the seven-year cycle at the end of which the son of David will come . . . at the conclusion of the septennate the son of David will come."863
"The idea became entrenched that the coming of the Messiah will be preceded by greatly increased suffering . . . This will last seven years. And then, unexpectedly, the Messiah will come."864
"A prominent feature of Jewish eschatology, as represented especially by the rabbinic literature, was the time of trouble preceding Messiah's coming. It was called the birth pangs of the Messiah,' sometimes more briefly translated as the Messianic woes.'"865
The phrase "birth pains"had its origin in Old Testament passages that describe the period of distress preceding the messianic age, namely the Tribulation (Isa. 13:8; 26:17; Jer. 4:31; 6:24; Mic. 4:9-10; cf. 1 Thess. 5:3).
"Birth pangs' are a favority metaphor for the tribulations God's judgment brings upon man."866
The "birth pangs"Jesus spoke about here will be a period seven years long immediately before Messiah returns to establish His kingdom, sometimes called "Daniel's seventieth week"(Dan. 9:26-27). The beginning of "birth pangs"is the beginning of this Tribulation.867
"Both the Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jer. 30:6-7) and the Great Tribulation (Mt. 24:41) are described as the unparalleled time of trouble. Since there can be only one such time, both will cover the same time period.
"The Great Tribulation will begin in the middle of the seven-year 70th week. We know this because Jesus indicated that the Great Tribulation will begin with the abomination of desolation (Mt. 24:15-21), which will take place in the middle of the 70th week (Dan. 9:27). . . .
"Since the Great Tribulation will begin in the middle and terminate at the end of the 70th week and will cover the same time period as the Time of Jacob's Trouble, the Time of Jacob's Trouble will also cover the entire second half of the 70th week.
"Since the Time of Jacob's Trouble will have birth pangs associated with it and will, together with the Great Tribulation, cover the second half of the 70th week, the Great Tribulation will also have birth pangs associated with it. On the basis of this, we can conclude that the entire second half of the 70th week will be characterized by birth pangs. . . .
"Two things indicate that the beginning of birth pangs will occur during the first half of the 70th week. First, it is obvious that Jesus was drawing an analogy with a woman's birth-pang experience. Just as a woman's beginning, less severe birth pangs precede her later, most severe pangs of hard labor, so the beginning, less severe pangs of the world's future time of trouble must precede its later, most severe pangs of hard labor. Since those later hard labor pangs will occur during the second half of the70th week, the beginning of birth pangs must take place during the first half of those seven years.
"Second, Christ introduced and discussed the beginningof birth pangs (Mt. 24:4-8) beforeHe introduced the abomination of desolation and the Great Tribulation (Mt. 24:15-21), and it appears that He introduced and discussed events in chronological order in this section of Matthew 24. This implies that the beginning of birth pangs will precede the abomination of desolation (of the middle of the 70th week) and the Great Tribulation (of the second half of the 70th week) and therefore will occur during the first half of that seven-year period."868
"Just as the first labor pangs of a pregnant woman indicate the nearness of the birth of a child, so these great signs anticipate the end of the age and the beginning of a new one."869
"The effect of these verses [6-8], then, is not to curb enthusiasm for the Lord's return but to warn against false claimants and an expectation of a premature return based on misconstrued signs."870
"A comparison of Christ's description of the beginning of birth pangs in Matthew 24:5-7 with the first four seals of Revelation 6:1-8 indicates that the beginning of birth pangs and the first four seals are the same thing.
"In addition, immediately after His description of the beginning of birth pangs, Christ referred to the killing of those associated with Him (Mt. 24:9). Parallel to this, the fifth seal refers to people killed because of their testimony (Rev. 6:9-11)."871
24:9-13 In the context all the things described in these verses will happen during the period of "birth pains,"namely during the Tribulation. During the "birth pains"the disciples would experience persecution and martyrdom. The "you"extends beyond Jesus' immediate disciples and includes disciples living in the future when these things will happen. Jesus was again speaking beyond His immediate audience.
The word "tribulation"or "persecuted"(Gr. thlipsis, or "distress") is a key word in this passage occurring three times (vv. 9, 21, 29; cf. 13:21).872The outstanding characteristic of this time will be thlipsis. This persecution will lead many disciples to turn away from the faith (cf. Dan. 11:35).873They will even hate one another (v. 10). The deceiving influence of false prophets as well as the persecution the disciples will experience will cause many to turn from the faith (v. 11; cf. 7:15-23; 13:21). Those disciples who hate one another will do so because wickedness will abound and the love of many of them (for the Savior, the truth, and or one another) will grow cold (v. 12).
Though the term "disciple"is a broader one than "believer"it seems clear that Jesus meant some believers would be deceived, turn from the faith, and even hate other believers. There is no other revelation in Scripture that would preclude this interpretation and much that warns believers about this possibility (e.g., 1 Tim. 4; 2 Tim. 3). There is much revelation, however, that precludes the view that those who will turn from the faith will lose their salvation (e.g., John 10:28-29; Rom. 8:31-39).
In contrast to those who prove unfaithful, those who persevere and endure the temptations of that period will experience deliverance (v. 13).874Their deliverance, unfortunately referred to as being "saved"by the majority of the English translations, will happen when and because Messiah will return at the end of the Tribulation.875He will end the persecution of His disciples and thereby deliver them from this distress. Another view is that the end refers to the end of the faithful disciple's life.876
"It is a promise that those who are faithful to the end, in the midst of the tribulation persecutions of Antichrist, will be abundantly rewarded with joint rulership with Christ in His coming kingdom."877
24:14 Another characteristic of this Tribulation period is that during those years the good news concerning the coming of the messianic kingdom will reach the ears of virtually everyone on earth. "And"ties this verse into the Tribulation, the period in view in verses 9-13. The "gospel of the kingdom"is the same good news that John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples had preached, namely that the kingdom was imminent (3:2; 4:17). Later revelation informs us that the 144,000 Jewish missionaries that God will protect during the Tribulation will provide the leadership in this worldwide gospel proclamation (Rev. 7:1-8; 14:1-5). Undoubtedly the message will be similar to the message John, Jesus, and the original disciples preached. They preached that people should get ready for the inauguration of the messianic kingdom by believing in the King, Jesus.878Undoubtedly, too, some people will believe and others will not.
"For those who accept the message, entrance into the kingdom awaits. But eternal damnation accrues to those who refuse the gospel of the kingdom."879
"This is not exactly the same message the church is proclaiming today. The message preached today in the Church Age and the message proclaimed in the Tribulation period calls for turning to the Savior for salvation. However, in the Tribulation the message will stress the coming kingdom, and those who then turn to the Savior for salvation will be allowed entrance into the kingdom."880
In answering the disciples' second question, Jesus explained that there would be many signs of His coming and the end of the present age. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes would be relatively common occurrences (vv. 6-8). The signs would include the worldwide persecution of His disciples, the apostasy of some of them, the success of false prophets, and increased lawlessness (wickedness). The love of some disciples would cool, but others would persevere faithfully as the gospel would extend to every part of the earth (vv. 9-14). Then the end would come (v. 14; cf. v. 3).
"In general, these signs have been at least partially fulfilled in the present age and have characterized the period between the first and second coming of Christ."881
However, we should expect complete fulfillment in the future. Revelation 6-18 gives further information concerning this time.
